


Prompted

by shimmer_like_agirl



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-01-30 05:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12646638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimmer_like_agirl/pseuds/shimmer_like_agirl
Summary: A modern AU completely guided by prompts from PillarsPromptsWeekly. I have no idea where this is going, but each chapter will be sequential based on the prompt chosen. Characters and tags will be updated as new chapters are written.





	1. Guessing Game

After eight weeks Adira didn’t even bat an eye at the mummy launching itself out of the coffin the second she opened the door. The anguished screams that erupted when she passed the hidden sensor chilled her blood about as much as a harmless nursery rhyme. Even the bat that dropped from the ceiling couldn’t make her jump.

Back in August, the frights had delighted her, but they no longer brought her any joy. Back then she’d thought working in the temporary costume store would be a blast. After all, she’d told herself, she loved Halloween! How awesome would it be to experience for two whole months?

The answer to that turned out to be “not very”. The customers were rude and demanding. It was always busy. No one ever put anything back where it belonged. And the cherry that sat atop the immensely disappointing sundae was that the costumes they sold were absolute crap. Of course, they were still _required_ to wear a costume every day. _And_ it had to be one of the costumes the store sold.

“Oh look, it’s the Sexy Wizard of Oz,” Pallegina commented dryly from her spot behind the counter. “Very chic.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m the Sexy Dorothy of Oz,” Adira corrected with wry smirk. “Nothing says ‘down home innocence’ like a blue gingham bustier, an obscenely short skirt, and white thigh high tights.”

“I stand corrected. My sincerest apologies to Her Sexiness, Miss Dorothy of Oz. Are you ready for our thrilling last day?”

“Ready for it to be over.” She wasn’t looking forward to being ogled by every man who came into the store, but at least her time there was nearly at an end. Once she’d signed into the system she proceeded to look for a spot to pin her name tag. “This would be much easier if I wasn’t so boobtastic right now. I’m pretty sure Dorothy never had these problems.” 

With the tag in place, she noticed, for the first time, what her friend was wearing. Or more specifically, not wearing. Instead of a costume, Pallegina was clad in a t-shirt and jeans. Her sole effort to dress up was in the elaborate feathers entwined in her already feathered hair. “What are you supposed to be?”

“I’m a peacock. A majestic being with feathers so beautiful they should not be overshadowed by unnecessary cleavage,” she said proudly.

“The boss is going to have a cow.”

Pallegina gave an uncaring shrug. “What can he do? Fire me? I simply don’t care. I’d gladly go home and help my girlfriend finish setting up for her party.” Every year her partner threw what ended up being a legendary halloween bash. “Speaking of which, what time will you by? Maneha wants to know. And will you be wearing _that_?”

“I’d rather die than come dressed in this. It’s bad enough I have to wear it now.” As in previous years, Adira had put a lot of thought and effort into what she wore for Halloween. This year was no exception. “I have something awesome planned for this year.”

“I assume it will be one of those things I don’t understand.”

The problem with being a costume design genius was people hardly ever understood what she was supposed to be. It wasn’t rare for her to spend the entire evening explaining her concept to everyone. “Someday I’ll find someone who gets my ideas. Maybe this year will be different.”

“I wouldn’t count on it, darling. We love you, but we scarcely understand you.” Pallegina patted her on the shoulder. “But should you come across this mythical unicorn, make sure to invite them to Maneha’s party, yes?”

~~~

As expected, the day was miserable. Adira spent hours racing back and forth through the store, trying to help all the last minute shoppers find the perfect costume. As the hours passed, the customers became increasingly more snippy and impatient, as if it were _her_ fault they’d waited so long to do their shopping. She’d lost count of the number of times she’d had to bite her tongue to keep from telling someone off.

The dressing rooms were a disaster area. No sooner had she gotten one cleaned up then someone would waltz in with an armload of outfits and leave it looking like Halloween had exploded behind the curtain. Eventually, all she could do was pull out everything left in each room, dump it on a pile, and hope she’d be able to put it away at some point.

That point never came and by the time the store was close to closing the pile had reached mountainous proportions. The number of people in the store had dwindled, allowing her to catch her breath and the enormity of the cleanup task ahead of her was more than a little daunting. More than anything she wanted to just throw away her stupid red shoes and curl up into a ball on the floor, but all she could do was stare at the mass of returns

“Rough day?” A deep voice from behind startled her back to reality and when she turned she found a blond man as broad as his voice sounded watching her. “You alright? Kinda looked like you were communing with that stack of clothes.”

Adira found herself distracted by the strangely attractive smirk etched on his lips. “Sorry? I...uh guess I’m a little overwhelmed right now,” she admitted. “It’s been crazy, but...can I help you find something?”

“Looks like most everything in the store is on that pile there, but it might be worth a shot.” The wink he gave her set off an unexpected flutter in her belly. “I was supposed to be out of town this weekend so I didn’t bother with a costume. Plans got cancelled and I got roped into going to a friend’s party. So here I am, at your mercy.”

Gods help her, but she liked the sound of that. What was going on with her? He wasn’t even the first above average attractive man to come into the store day. She shook her head in an attempt to focus her her thoughts. “Does it have a theme? Your friend’s party, I mean.”

The bearded man sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “It’s a wine and cheese tasting party where we’re apparently going to read some horror stories from the 1800s.”

“Oh.” She managed to stop the laugh that bubbled up, but couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “That sounds like it could be fun.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you’d ever been to one of Kana’s parties.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if she could go along with him to see for herself. Quickly a voice in her head reminded her that she was a professional with a job to do. He was a customer. True, he was a ridiculously good-looking customer, but a customer all the same. “Are they really that bad?”

“Not if you’re one of those intellectual types...which Kana certainly is.” He turned to flip through a few of the pre-packaged costumes that were still hanging from their hooks. “And let’s just say I certainly _am not_.” A tension manifested in the fine lines around his eyes as he studiously examined the package in his hands, but it was fleeting. “What about this?”

His selection earned him a raised eyebrow. “I don’t know. The nun _is_ a bold choice.” She tried to keep a straight face as she pictured him wearing the habit. “You’re so tall the bottom of it is only going to hit your knees. You’d be showing a lot of leg for a cloistered sister.”

“Wouldn’t want that, would we?” He chuckled warmly and put the nun’s garb away. ‘What would you recommend? I mean...out of what little you have left?”

“There’s really not much here, at least that hasn’t been tried on by at least a dozen people.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Pallegina waving to her and motioning towards the doors. It looked like she’d already started to close. Adira pretended not to notice and instead began gathering as many of the unopened costumes as she could find.

“Okay, let’s see what we’ve got. Let me know if any of these speak to you.” As she called out the name on each package, she hung it up on one of the empty hooks. “Top Gun Pilot. Chef. Mobster. Gangster.” They exchanged a look. “I’m sure there’s a subtle difference between them.”

“Oh, of course,” he said, looking from one to the other. “Mobsters wear pinstripe pants while Gangsters have this jaunty pocket square. What else you got?” 

“News Anchor.”

“You mean Anchorman? Ron Burgandy?”

“No, I mean the unlicensed, sub-par quality News Anchor.”

“Ah, okay then. Pass.”

“Good call. The moustache is horrible.” A thought entered her head and she was giving it a voice before she knew it. “The whole facial hair thing you’ve got going on right now is so much better. It suits you.”

His smile at her compliment lit up his eyes. “Glad you like it. I’ve had it for so long I’ve kinda forgotten what my face looks like without it.” After a few moments of silence, he sighed. “I appreciate your effort, but I don’t think I’m going to find anything. It’s a real shame, too. I love Halloween and if I hadn’t expected to be out of town this weekend I would have had something planned out a month ago. These pre-packaged things just aren’t my thing.” A stricken look crossed his face at the realization of what he’d just said. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to insult you...I just meant….”

“No no no, don’t worry,” she interrupted him with a smile. “I agree. These things are horrible. I’m only wearing this because they pay me to. Once I get out of here I’m changing into my actual costume.”

“Am I allowed to ask what that’s going to be?”

“I’d have to explain it and you might...not get it,” she said, trying to be as tactful as possible. “No one ever gets it.”

“Okay, well now I’m intrigued,” he admitted. “How about this? You tell me what makes up your costume and I try to guess what it is.”

She considered his request. What did she really have to lose? “You have to promise you won’t get mad if you lose.”

“Cross my heart.” He made the corresponding motion over his chest. “And if I get it right you let me walk out of here with those cute little kitty ears over there.”

“Agreed.” She held out a hand to shake and seal the deal. At the clasp of their hands together she felt a shivery tingle flow through her fingertips. She wondered if he felt it, too, or if it was completely one-sided.

“So? Let me have it.”

“Hang on, hang on,” she said, trying to think of the best way to present the details. “Okay, so I’m wearing this old army helmet, boots, and a camouflage-painted bathrobe. Then I’ve got a basket to carry around a Barbie dressed as a witch, and a stuffed lion. That’s it.”

“Give me a minute. I can get this.” He focused his eyes on some unseen spot on the wall, deep in thought as ran through the details in his head. “A witch, a lion, a bathrobe and the army...oh!” He snapped his fingers at the realization. “The Lion, the Witch and the _War_ drobe! That’s it, right? Am I right?”

“Yes!” Her answering grin was genuine and she clapped her hands happily. “Give me a second. I need to savour this moment and remember how it feels.” She reached for the cat ears and slid the band over his head. “Congratulations! And now you’ve got what some people would classify as a costume for your wine and cheese party.”

“Wonderful! Fabulous!” Pallegina’s strong voice swept towards them. “You both win and I’m thrilled for you, but we need to close the store.” As she approached the pair, Adira recognized her own phone in her friend’s hand. “You, what’s your name?”

“Edér.”

“Good. Thank you, Edér. This is my friend, Adira.” She handed him the phone. “Put your number in here and she’ll call you.” Once he handed her the phone back, she returned it to its rightful owner. “Call him. Go out for a drink. Later. We need to close and I want to leave this horrid place forever.”

They stood together awkwardly after she left, neither exactly sure how to proceed after that. Adira stared down at his number in her phone, her heart racing at the sight of it. “I’m sorry about her...I can delete this if you want.”

Was it her imagination, or did he look stricken at the suggestion?

“Don’t delete it. Your friend may be pushy, but don’t waste a good idea.” He grinned broadly. “You ever want to go grab a beer or something, give me a call.”

“I can do that.” She glanced over to where Pallegina was pacing at the front of the store. “You better go now or she’ll kill me and you’ll never get that drink.”


	2. Reversal of Fortune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edér is having the worst of days, but there might just be a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

Watching the clock wasn’t making the time go by any faster. If anything, Edér swore he saw the hand move backwards. Just his luck to be stuck in some weird coffee house purgatory with the worst date possible.

“Ugh, this coffee is still really terrible.” The woman’s face grew pinched with displeasure, and she pushed her chair back from the table. “I’m starting to think that girl is screwing it up on purpose. I’m going back, and she’s going to fix it. Again.”

Edér tried to keep his face passive, but as soon as she was out of earshot, he sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, slumping slightly in his chair. The coffee wasn’t terrible. She’d ordered the same thing he had, and his was fine. Perfect even. This would be the third time she’d gone back to the counter to get her coffee “fixed”. The problem wasn’t with the coffee. The problem was with her. And since she was here with him, she was his problem. Maybe it was time to stop being a glutton for punishment and stop agreeing to any more of Kana’s blind dates.

Luckily for him, this was just supposed to be a quick “get to meet each other” type thing, so he wasn’t bound here any longer than it took to drink a cup of coffee. ‘Course the way she kept going back to the barista they were never going to get to that part. When she returned, her face was smugly victorious, but it didn’t last past her first sip. Before she could open her mouth to complain again, he reached over, took the cup from her, and promised to take care of it.

The young barista’s face fell as she saw him approach. He waved her off when she tried to apologize and handed back the coffee. “Pretend you’re making her another one,” he said in a low voice even though he was sure he wouldn’t be overheard. “Honestly don’t know what her deal is. This is my first time meeting her and...shit, I can’t remember her name.” He couldn’t even bring himself to feel guilty about that. “Anyway, real sorry she’s making your morning miserable.” After a moment’s pause, he smirked. “Don’t suppose you got anything stronger than coffee back there? I might need it to get through this.”

The barista shook her head with a shy smile and handed the unaltered cup back over the counter. “Sorry, I wish I did.”

“No worries. Gotta just grit my teeth and pray it’s over quickly.” Before he turned away, he added a couple of dollar bills to the tip jar and after a moment’s pause added a few more. “Hope your day gets better. Hope mine does, too, for that matter.”

Unsurprisingly the coffee passed inspection, despite it being the same drink she’d sent back. Her face lit up with delight, and she smiled for the first time since they’d met. “You’re a miracle worker! I think I’m going to have to keep you around.”

With a neutral smile, Edér racked his brain for something, anything, to talk about. As much as he wanted to just get up and leave, he knew he had to stay for the time he’d promised. “So, how do you know Kana?”

“Oh, we go to the same yoga class on Thursday morning. Do you do yoga?”

“Nope. Never tried it. Not really my thing.” Yoga? What was Kana even thinking when he set this up?

“You really should.” She nodded sagely at her own advice. “I find it really helps me find my centre and it really reminds me to stay grounded.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, but she didn’t seem to have fully registered them. He wasn’t entirely sure she was actively listening to anyone but herself.

“What was that?”

“I love staying grounded.”

“It really is the best, isn’t it?” There was another of those sage nods followed by a long silence. “I shouldn’t even be drinking this coffee,” her tone was conspiratorial, as though she were breaking some major rule. “I’ve been doing this really intense cleansing detox. All I’ve been drinking for the last two weeks are smoothies made from wheatgrass, dandelion, and lemon juice. You should try it. It would probably help you out.”

What was that supposed to mean? From the critical up and down look she was giving him, he guessed it wasn’t complimentary. He opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it and remained silent. The less he talked, the faster he could finish his coffee and get out.

“So...Kana tells me you have your own construction company.” Apparently, she was capable of talking about something other than herself. Although any credit she earned herself for that was quickly depleted by the words that followed. “That must be nice. Someday I want my own company so I can sit back and let other people do all the work while I rake in all the money.”

“That’s not the way it is with me. I put in the same kind of hours as the rest of my crew.” Was it worth it even trying to explain the concept of taking pride in your work to her? “If I could, I would spend even more time down on the worksites with them. There’s just something about working with your hands that’s incredibly satisfying.”

“But why would you work if you don’t have to? Maybe if you worked less, your hands wouldn’t be so rough. I would hate it if my hands got all calloused.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he was at a loss for words. This was definitely one of those days that would be shoved into the lower recesses of his brain as soon as it was over.

“You should consider shaving your beard.”

Eothas help me. The silent prayer ran through his mind as he tried to come up a reason not to get up and just leave. “I happen to like my beard, so no.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it as an insult! I just thought maybe you had it to hide a weak chin or something. No offense, but I don’t like beards. It makes me think you have something to hide.”

Kana was definitely going to be on the receiving end of some choice words once Edér was out of here. There wasn’t even anything he could say in response to that so when the phone in his pocket vibrated; he only hesitated a fraction of a second before deciding to answer. It was, after all, a call he’d been waiting all morning for and he wasn’t about to miss it just to avoid the pointedly judgemental look the beard-hater levelled at him. “Sorry, gotta take this...work thing.”

Not wanting to have to deal with her while taking the call, he made a beeline for the nearest door as he answered. “Hey Tucker, what’s up? Hope you got good news for me.”

The hesitant breath on the other end of the line didn’t fill him with optimism, and his stomach sank even before anything was spoken. “I’m sorry, man. They accepted a bid from someone else. I thought it was going well for you, and it was really close, but you know...city politics….”

“Well, shit.” That wasn’t the news he’d been hoping to hear. Even though he knew it was pointless to ask, he had to. “Who got the contract?”

“You know I can’t tell you that. They’ll announce it at the press conference next week.”

Edér sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks for letting me know.”

“You’ll get ‘em next time, buddy. Talk to you later.”

Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. It didn’t take a cipher to know it was the Doemenels that had been awarded the contract instead of him. It was difficult to get ahead in Defiance Bay with that bloody family lining politicians pockets to get the best jobs. Not that he was doing poorly business-wise, but he wanted to break out of the small time residential projects. Getting one of the city contracts would have been a huge step forward. Now it was back to square one.

The last thing he wanted now was to have to go back inside and continue talking to his date. He was already outside...there was no reason he couldn’t just hop into his truck and go somewhere remote to vent the frustration mounting inside. Except...fuck it; his keys were back on the table.

Before he could take a step towards the door, the phone in his hand rang again. Seeing the number displayed, he groaned. What was it going to be now? His housekeeper never called unless something was wrong. “Hey, Sophie, what’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, Mr Teylecg, really I am. Bigby got out the house again.”

Shit. “Are you kidding me?” This would make it the fourth time in as many weeks. “No, I’m sorry, of course you aren’t. How?”

“I was upstairs vacuuming, and I guess he figured out how to get through that lock you installed on the front door. By the time I noticed he was long gone.”

“How long ago?”

“An hour at the most.”

The day really wasn’t getting any better. That dog was far too smart for his own good. “Don’t worry about it, Sophie. I’ll leave right now to find him.”

With that call ended Edér headed back inside to wrap up the monstrosity that was his blind date. He had absolutely no desire to play nice and polite to a woman he had no intention of ever seeing again. Once back at the table, he scooped up his keys and what was left of his coffee. “I’m leaving,” he said simply with no further explanation. He needed to get as far away from here as humanly possible.

As tempted as he was to call Kana and give his friend a piece of his mind over the date he’d just suffered through, it was more important to start looking for his missing dog. An hour was a long time, and there was no telling what kind of trouble the retriever was getting himself into at that exact moment. Instead, while he drove through the streets through his neighbourhood, he placed a couple of calls to the local shelters. None of them had picked him up but promised to call if he was spotted.

It wasn’t until he was stopped at a light when he spotted the package on the far side of his dash. He’d almost forgotten the Halloween cat ears he’d gotten the week before when he’d given Adira his number. He was disappointed, but not entirely surprised that she hadn’t called. The way his luck was going it seemed too much to ask that something would go his way. “Don’t let yourself get hung up on it, man,” he told himself. “Not when you got actual, real-world problems to deal with.”

The traffic started moving, and after another hour spent searching with no results Edér was sorely tempted to just go home and wait to see if the dog would return on his own. There had to be a first time for everything, didn’t there? Before he could make the decision, his phone rang with a call from an unknown number. “Hello?”

“Hi!” An overly cheerful voice greeted him on the other end of the line. “This is Maneha calling from Meow or Never, the animal sanctuary out at Caed Nua. Do you happen to know a beautiful golden retriever who answers to Bigby?”

“Yes! I do! Thank the gods you found him.” Relief flooded through him, leaving him momentarily speechless. Finally some good news. “I’m sorry, I’ve just been searching for him for a couple of hours. Is he okay?”

“Oh he’s just dandy,” Maneha said reassuringly. “He was pretty muddy when he trotted up to the door, but one of the volunteers is bathing him right now so he’ll be gorgeous by the time you get here. Do you need directions?”

“Directions?” Given how things were going it was better to err on the side of caution. “You better give ‘em to me. I only have a vague idea at best of how to get there.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Caed Nua. Now there was a place he never thought he’d have a reason to visit. Edér had heard so many rumours about the place since moving to Defiance Bay years ago, but never paid any of them much mind. Some people insisted the whole place was cursed and that it was worth a person’s life to cross its borders. Others talked about how the buildings were all infested with strange spiders and other nameless creatures that only existed in nightmares. Then there were those that believed it to be haunted by the victims of wars from years gone by. All anyone could agree on was that it was such a shame no one ever lived there or did anything productive with the land.

Driving through the front gates in broad daylight, it was difficult to imagine this place was home to any sort of boogeyman. Sure most of the buildings were in some sort disrepair, but it was nothing a few repairs and a couple of coats of paint couldn’t fix. It was apparent some of the structures had recently had some work done. Stood to reason considering there was a whole new animal sanctuary running out here. It was probably worth asking around after the current owner while he was here to see if they were happy with their current contractor. First things first, he needed to retrieve his runaway retriever.

The main office of Meow or Never was easy enough to find. As he made his way to the front door, Edér could hear the sounds of happy barking, warbling bird songs, and several other unidentifiable animal noises. The place had a good energy about it. Once inside it was quieter, calmer. The interior exuded warmth and welcome even though there seemed to be no one around. “At least there’s a bell,” he said to himself as he tapped the device which emitted a little tinkle at his touch.

The first person to come into view was a darkly bearded older man with somewhat scraggly hair and a sour expression. The scrubs he wore marked him as a vet, and he appeared wholly uninterested in customer service. “What do you want?”

The harshness of the vet’s tone threw him off a little. It was at odds with what he’d experienced so far. “I...uh...I’m here to pick up my dog.”

“I don’t have time for this. Wait for one of the other ones.” With an irritable shake of his head, he disappeared into through a nearby door leaving Edér alone once again.

That same door opened again moments later, but this time it produced a pleasant looking aumaua woman. She flashed a giant grin and rolled her eyes at the door that closed behind her. “Sorry about Durance. He’s…an acquired taste.”

“Has anyone acquired him yet?”

Her delighted laugh would have been answer enough. “Not to my knowledge.”

Edér smirked and leaned against the counter on his elbows. “I’m sure he’s got a great bedside manner.”

“I swear that man could curdle milk with that glare of his. Let’s just say he takes to animals much better than people.” She laughed again and then waved her hands around her as if she were cleansing the air of the grumpy man’s presence. “Enough of that, we’re here for bigger and better things. How can I help you?”

“I got a call earlier about my dog, Bigby. I’m here to pick him up.”

“Oh good! That was me who called. I’m Maneha,” she said by way of introduction as she shook his hand. “I’ll get him released to you; I just need to make some notes here. ” She paused to tap a couple of keys on her keyboard. “Your Bigby is a real sweetheart. He already has several fans who are going to be sad to see him go.”

That definitely sounded like his dog. “Yeah, he has that effect on people. He’s a great dog...most of the time. He’s gotten into this habit of running off lately. Not sure why.”

“Maybe he’s just bored and wants to meet new people. Or he wants to keep things interesting for you.” After a little more keyboard tapping she clapped her hands together. “Okay, it’s all cleared up, and he’s ready to go.”

“Great!” He started to pull out his wallet, experience telling him it was bound to cost something. “What do I owe you?”

“Nothing at all. Your money’s no good here,” she said, motioning for him to put his wallet away. “I realize it seems counter-intuitive, but we’re not here to make money. We’re here solely to help our friends, furred and otherwise. We’re entirely funded by private donations to make that happen.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind paying.”

“I’ll take it as a personal insult if you don’t put that wallet of yours away right now.” She nodded with approval as he did as he was told. “Now, back to business, as it were. Bigby’s outside playing with one of the volunteers. I’m a little short-handed right now. Otherwise, I’d walk you out to him. Take a right once you go out the front door, follow the path and keep walking until you find them. Tell her you talked to Maneha and he’ll be all yours again.”

Edér didn’t have to follow the path very far before he spotted his golden retriever engaged in an energetic game of catch with an as yet unseen partner. It was difficult to stay mad at the dog when it was clear he was having the time of his life. As he drew closer to the playful scene, his heartbeat picked up in its pace as he realized he recognized the volunteer who Bigby had taken a shine to.

It was her. Adira. Standing there, playing with his dog, the sun shining on her warm brown skin as the breeze ruffled her dark curls. How was it possible that she was even more beautiful than he remembered? His feet came to a stop, and he found himself suddenly unsure of what to do. Given that she’d obviously decided against calling him, this surprise meeting was likely to be more than a little awkward. Should he just call Bigby to him and try to avoid talking to her at all? Would that be rude or would she be relieved?

Before a decision could be made, the dog paused in his pursuit of the ball and barked happily in his direction. The canine altered his course and came hurtling towards Edér, knocking him clear off his feet in an enthusiastic leap. Laughing in spite of his uncertainty, he pushed the happy ball of fur away and managed to stand just as Adira reached the reunited pair.

Surprisingly, her face brightened as recognition dawned. The delighted laughter that bubbled from her lips set the butterflies loose inside him, and his legs were suddenly made of jelly as she reached out to grasp his hand with her own. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you!” Seeing the confusion written plainly on his face she explained. “I had every intention of calling you, but my phone had a little...unexpected Halloween encounter at Maneha’s party.”

His eyebrows knit together as he tried to piece it all together. “Maneha? The woman inside?”

“That’s the one! I love her dearly, but she gets mischievous when she’s drinking.” She stopped to pull her phone out of her pocket and showed him her list of contacts. “She thought it would be hilarious to change all the names, so I have no idea who the numbers belong to.” A hint of irritation crept across her features. “I’ve spent so much time this last week calling people to try and correct the names. I’ve been a little...well, frustrated that I haven’t found yours yet. I’m glad my luck has changed.”

A warm flush coloured his cheeks at her words, and he was silently grateful that his own luck had taken such a sharp turn. “Well, now that I’m here, maybe I can help you correct it.” Trying to control the shaking in his hands, he produced his own phone and handed it over. “Use mine to call your number and see what name I come up under.”

“Good idea!” She did as she suggested and then laughed as the results came up on her screen. “Hello, Rico Hardbody.” She looked up and gave him a little wink before laughing again. “I need to find new friends. Let’s get that corrected.” Before she handed his own phone back, she took a few extra seconds to add her number and a quick picture. “There. Now we have insurance in case she strikes again.”

“Fantastic. At the risk of appearing as overly enthusiastic as this guy here,” Edér started, reaching down to scratch Bigby behind the ears in an attempt to soothe his jittery nerves before he spoke again. “Are you doing anything tomorrow night?”

“I’m not ashamed to admit I have absolutely no plans. What did you have in mind?”

“There’s a great pub in Ondra’s Gift called the Rusty Rudder.” He laughed at the dubious look that earned him. “I know, I know, the name is horrible, but apparently it’s been called that since it was built over five hundred years ago. Name aside; they brew the best beer in Defiance Bay.”

“Well, I’m nothing if not a girl with a soft spot for a good brew.” The smile she flashed him was warm and set another rush of butterflies free. “Name the time, and I’ll meet you there.” She knelt down to give her new canine friend a hug. “I guess this is goodbye for now. I’m really glad you decided to run away today.”

“You and me both.”


End file.
